[apologies to Ellen for multiple posting]
I'd like to keep the discussion going a little further if you don't mind
since I have an interest in censorship issues on the web and my
philosophical background is stirred by this issue. You mention
two areas of concern, one of which (a site whose content is illegal) I
can clearly understand.
The other concern you express is what you write below:
> 2) I very much doubt if the content providers on our site would be happy to
> have their material linked to from this site as it effectively provides a
> context that completely distorts the original intentions of the material.
A often-used metaphor for a hyperlink is a reference: both tell you that
a certain piece of information is probably available from a particular
location, but do not in and of themselves provide you with the information.
Academics or other authors all the time find work being cited in fora
where they would not want it to be cited, but we commonly accept that,
unlike lengthy quotations, citations don't require permission.
While there is a right to stop someone using your intellectual property
without permission, there isn't a right to stop someone pointing to it
or telling people how to find it, unless the mechanism by which they
find it is itself a piece of your own intellectual property (which would
not apply to the Web).
So, from what you've been able to give us (and I do understand your
sparing us the details) I'd disagree that your material is really being
"used". By all means complain to the ISP or other authorities about the
nature of the site, though.
Hope this was worth reading,
--
Martin Poulter
Web Development Officer, Economics LTSN
http://www.economics.ltsn.ac.uk/
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